Latest news with #StromnessGolfClub
The National
9 hours ago
- Sport
- The National
Orkney to host International Islands Games for first time
The 2025 International Island Games is set to take place in Orkney between July 12 and 18 and will include 12 different sports. Lorraine Kelly is the event's ambassador and is set to host the opening ceremony. The TV star said she considers the island her 'happy place', having visited it every year for the past 40 years, while Princess Anne will officially open the games. The Orkney Games 2025 mascot (Image: Supplied) The games will be the largest event that Orkney has ever hosted, with around 2000 athletes from 23 other island groups around the world set to attend. It is the first time event has been held in Scotland in 20 years. The athletes will compete across 12 different sporting events, consisting of football, athletics, archery, swimming, golf, badminton, squash, cycling, gymnastics, sailing, bowls and triathlon. Around 900 volunteers will be taking part in various roles across the games, which are completely free to attend. READ MORE: Glasgow arts centre shut down after pro-Palestine protest occupies building Visitors can take part in events celebrating island culture, while there is also a range of food available across different venues and revamped facilities like Stromness Golf Club and Orkney Golf Club. Commenting, Lorraine Kelly said: 'I'm so excited about hosting the opening ceremony for Orkney 2025.' Lorraine Kelly (Image: Supplied) She described the islands as a 'very special place' to her and said that 'the games promises to be a great week' which will 'share with the world just how special the islands are.' Kirsty Talbot, Orkney 2025 games director, said: 'We couldn't be more excited for the athletes, the volunteers, and the local community who have come together to make this historic event a reality – and we can't believe it will take place in just two weeks' time! (Image: Supplied) 'The Games will not only showcase the incredible talent of island athletes but also leave a lasting legacy for Orkney. 'From fantastic host sports clubs to improved facilities, this event is a catalyst for growth and participation in sports across the islands. We cannot wait for Games week to kick off!' Richard Lochhead (Image: Martini) Business Minister Richard Lochhead said: 'It has been 20 years since Scotland last hosted these incredible Games and now a few weeks to go until they return. 'The Games will present another opportunity to demonstrate our unrivalled Scottish hospitality as we play host of another major international event, but also showcase and celebrate Orkney, its people and its businesses.' READ MORE: Co-op stops selling produce from Israel and 16 other 'countries of concern' Graham Bevan, Orkney Islands Council convener, added that the 'hosting of the Games will live long in the memories of our community.' Those not attending the games will be able to stream the events on the Orkney 2025 YouTube channel, which will feature commentary from the likes of Olympic and Commonwealth Games gymnasts Claudia Fragapane and Kelly Simm.
The Herald Scotland
07-06-2025
- Sport
- The Herald Scotland
Open to abuse? Scottish golf clubs weigh in on OpenPlay
Scottish Golf and other national governing bodies that operate similar schemes say the aim is to keep independent players in the golfing fold and perhaps ultimately guide them back into club membership. Some club officials taking part in The Herald Scottish Golf Survey maintain that it cheapens the game and is detrimental to their finances. Independent golfers who are not a member of a club make up the majority of players in the UK. Golf club membership in Scotland currently hovers around 210,000, including junior players, while the number of those not affiliated to a club has been estimated at roughly 500,000. To date, OpenPlay has attracted about 4,800 members. 'My personal view is that I'm not really that fussed about it," said Douglas Slater, lead coach and junior section coordinator at Stromness Golf Club in Orkney. "If it gets folk playing golf, that's mainly my aim and has been my aim for years. "But I know that in the rural clubs and the island clubs, we are keen to have paying members. For folk to come and play in our opens [who don't] belong to a club, OpenPlay isn't really the angle that we want to look at, simply because we want them to pay their membership same as everyone else pays their membership.' Others are more categorical in their scepticism. "We are in the firm belief that it is detrimental to the state of golf clubs," a spokesperson for Insch Golf Club in Aberdeenshire told The Herald. Read more: "From [Scottish Golf's] perspective, they feel like they are keeping players in the golfing system that can't commit to a full membership and we appreciate that, but we feel there is room for it to be amended. Maybe a limit of two years, after which you have to join a club. "An entry point into the world of golf is OK, but there's no limits on anything at the moment." Graeme Jolly, immediate past captain and committee member at Milngavie Golf Club in East Dunbartonshire, said he personally believes Scottish Golf is generally doing a good job but the "bugbear" is OpenPlay which "conflicts directly with club membership, offering people the chance to play our golf courses without making any kind of major contribution to the upkeep". "They're not committed to joining any club in the future and in the meanwhile they're getting good access to golf clubs," Mr Jolly said. "If they weren't able to play for handicaps that might be slightly different, but the fact they can rock up and put in a general play score and submit that to Scottish Golf towards their handicap, that's a downside for us because there is no incentive for them to go and join a golf club - none whatsoever." Some says there is 'no incentive' for OpenPlay members to join a golf club (Image: Pixabay) Scottish Golf chief executive Robbie Clyde said the governing body provides OpenPlay members with information on offers for golf club membership in their area. This contributed towards 17% of OpenPlay golfers in Scotland transferring into club membership last year. "There are golfers out there who because of their personal circumstances – their life circumstances, their financial circumstances, their job, their career, their family – they are not able to be a member of a golf club, or they choose not to be because perhaps it's not affordable, or perhaps they don't have the time to justify being a member of a golf club," he said. "Perhaps they travel a huge amount, or perhaps they don't live in the same location for 10 or 15 or 20 years, and therefore to become a member of a golf club is just not for them at that point in their life.' He added: "OpenPlay is one of the best tools that we have to ensure we maintain regular contact and provide support to golfers for whom club membership is not right at this point in time." Members of both traditional golf clubs and OpenPlay can submit "general play" scores from rounds that are not part of an organised competition to contribute towards their handicap under the World Handicap System (WHS), provided they adhere to WHS requirements. Read more: This is done through an app by pre-registering their intention to submit a score which can be entered a few hours later after the round is completed. This score must be verified by another player with a WHS handicap and submitted while within close proximity to the golf course. The flexibility of submitting general play scores and the casual nature of the monthly membership option within OpenPlay has given rise to concerns in some quarters that the system is being manipulated by a minority of independent golfers who maintain an artificially high handicap to improve their chances of winning prizes, often vouchers of £100 or so, when entering "open" competitions hosted by many clubs on an annual basis. To counteract this and related concerns, some clubs have taken matters into their own hand. Insch and others charge OpenPlay members a green fee in addition to the open competition entry fee; at Clydebank & District, match secretary John Stirling said the club does not allow OpenPlay members to enter its competitions. Asked about this, Mr Clyde at Scottish Golf said there are a "lot of myths out there" and he had yet to hear of "a single actual example" of any player cheating at an open competition "just to win prizes". Read more: "If that is the case and clubs [know it], then they should let us know and we will look at the handicap record and scoring record of that individual," he said. "If we can see that we think there has been manipulation we will deal with it, as any club should do.' Mr Clyde added that Scottish Golf would ultimately prefer all members of clubs, including OpenPlay, be treated equally but if some choose to ask for additional fees "we don't have an issue with that". However, he pointed out that the potential for manipulating the WHS general play submission system is not limited to OpenPlay members. 'Any club golfer could do exactly the same thing – there's no difference between an OpenPlay member and any other club golfer, and any sort of inference that an OpenPlay member would be more inclined to do that than any other club golfer is incorrect," he said.
